By the time Ovid wrote this poem, the letter of reproach was a genre familiar to him: each book of theTristia(with the obvious exception of II) contains such a poem (I viii; III xi; IV ix; V viii), and in theIbisOvid had, by the extended treatment of a number of standard topics within the subject, created a poem of over six hundred lines.
Ovid begins the poem by stating that he has heard about his friend's faithlessness; he asks what possible excuse there might be for this behaviour (1-28). He then warns his friend that Fortune is changeable, and gives four examples of famous men who fell from prosperity (29-48). He ends the poem by stating once again that Fortune is undependable, and gives his own catastrophe as an instance; his friend should remember this, and moderate his behaviour accordingly (49-58).
The poem has points of contact with the earlier poems of reproach.TrI viii is addressed to a friend who failed to visit Ovid after his disaster: he can scarcely believe his friend is human. InTrIII xi, Ovid asks his enemy why through his actions he makes his punishment even worse.TrIV ix is a warning that if Ovid's enemy does not cease attacking him, he will through his poetry make his enemy's name infamous throughout the world.TrV viii, the poem closest in theme to the present one, is a warning to his enemy that Fortune is changeable and Augustus merciful, so he and Ovid might one day change situations.
TheIbis, being primarily a catalogue of literary curses, stands somewhat apart from the other poems of reproach in structure as in size; yet the opening of the poem, in which Ovid describes his enemy's conduct and the ways he might respond, offers a number of parallels to the present poem.
1. CONQVERAR AN TACEAM.Kenney (Nequitiae Poeta204-5), commenting onAAI 739 'conquerar an moneam', cites other instances of the same rhetorical device atAenIII 39 ' eloquar an sileam?' andMetIX 147 'conquerar an sileam?', as well as the present passage.
1. CONQVERAR.The choice of verb is significant: this poem is a rhetoricalconquestiotransferred to verse. Kenney cites Cicero's definition ofconquestioatInuI 106: 'conquestio est oratio auditorum misericordiam captans ... id locis communibus efficere oportebit, per quos Fortunae uis in omnes et hominum infirmitas ostenditur; qua oratione ... animus hominum ... ad misericordiam comparatur, cum in alieno malo suam infirmitatem considerabit'.
1. PONAM SINE NOMINE CRIMEN.'Shall I put my accusation in my poem without naming you?'. The same sense ofponereatTrI v 7 'positispro nomine signis',TrIV iv 7, andEPIII vi 1-2 'Naso suo (posuitnomen quam paene!) sodali / mittit ab Euxinis hoc breue carmen aquis'.
2. QVI SIS.The boundary between adjectivalquiand pronominalquisin Latin was not absolute; and just as one finds such forms asquis clamor(MetIII 632), so it seems to have been Latin practice to usequibefore forms ofessein indirect discourse, perhaps in order to avoid a doubles-sound. Some instances of this from verse areEclI 18 'iste deusqui sitda, Tityre, nobis',EclII 19 'necqui simquaeris, Alexi',AenIII 608-9 'qui sitfari ... hortamur',MetXIV 841 'mihi necquae sisdicere promptum est',MetXV 595 'isqui sitsigno, non nomine dicam',FastV 191 'ipse docequae sis',Ibis52 'teque breuiqui sisdissimulare sinam',Ibis61 'qui sisnondum quaerentibus edo', andEPIII vi 57 'teque tegam,qui sis'. In some of these passagesquisis found as a variant reading; given the ease of corruption, the rule should perhaps be made canonical, and such passages asMetI 248-49 'quis sitlaturus in aras / tura' supplied with forms ofquieven when, as in this instance, there is only weak manuscript support. (Professor R. J. Tarrant prefers, however, to retainquisatMetI 248, seeing a difference between expressions of identity [qui sis ... dicam] and of description [sitandlaturusgo closely together]).
The use ofquiseems to have extended to past subjunctives ofesseas well as present: compareMetXI 719 'qui [uarquis] foret ignorans'. For discussions see Löfstedt II 79-96 and Shackleton Bailey onAttIII x 2 'possum obliuisciqui fuerim, non sentire qui sim?'.
In preclassical Latinquiis found forquiseven in direct questions:OLD quiA4a cites PlCapt833 'qui uocat', TerPh990 'qui nominat me', and Scipio minor V 19 Malcovati3'qui spondet mille nummum'. The usage must have continued in spoken Latin, for it is found at Vitruvius VII 5 6 and Petronius 62 8.
3. NOMINE NON VTAR, NE COMMENDERE QVERELA.An interesting indication of the confidence Ovid felt in his poetry. In his earlier poems of reproach, Ovid had represented his not naming the person as an act of forbearance (TrIV ix 1-4;Ibis51-54).
3. COMMENDERE QVERELA.Oxymoron.
5. DVM MEA PVPPIS ERAT VALIDA FVNDATA CARINA.The common ancient metaphor of shipwreck also used of Ovid's exile atTrI i 85-86,TrII 99-102,TrIII iv 15-16 'dum tecum uixi, dum me leuis aura ferebat, / haec mea per placidas cumba cucurrit aquas',TrV xii 50, andEPII iii 25-28.
7. CONTRAXIT VVLTVM.See at i 5trahis uultus(p 149).
9-10form a tricolon, where each phrase represents the same action in progressively more specific terms: (1) 'dissimulas etiam' (2) 'nec me uis nosse uideri' (3) 'quisque sit audito nomine Naso rogas'.
9. DISSIMVLAS.The same word in similar contexts atTrI i 62 'dissimulare uelis, te liquet esse meum',TrIII vi 2,TrIV iii 54,TrIV iv 28, andEPI ii 146.
9. NEC ME VIS NOSSE VIDERI.'You don't want others to think you know me'. Similar thought and language atTrIV iii 51 'me miserum si turpe putas mihi nupta uideri!' andEPII iii 29-30 'cumque aliinolintetiamme nosse uideri, / uix duo proiecto tresue tulistis opem'.
10. QVISQVE SIT. QVIQVE SIT(HacP) could be defended,sitdetermining the formqui, even with the intervening enclitic, but given the prevalence of relativequiqueat line-beginnings in Ovid (compare xvi 9, 11, 15, 19 & 23) it seems better to take it as a trivial error.
11, 13, 15, 17. ILLE EGO.The same idiom to stir someone's memory atFastIII 505-6 'illa ego sumcui tu solitus promittere caelum: / ei mihi, pro caelo qualia dona fero' andEPI ii 129-32 'ille ego sumqui te colui, quem festa solebat / inter conuiuas mensa uidere tuos: /ille ego quiduxi uestros Hymenaeon ad ignes, / et cecini fausto carmina digna toro'. R. G. Austin, discussing the spurious proem to theAeneid(CQLX, n.s. XVIII [1968] 110-11), citesTrV vii 55-56 'ille egoRomanus uates—ignoscite, Musae!— / Sarmatico cogor plurima more loqui',MetI 757-58 'ille egoliber, / ille ferox tacui', StatiusSilV v 38 &ThebIX 434, and Silius XI 177-82: 'It will be noticed ... that all these examples represent the new situation as a fall from grace'.
12. AMICITIA.Ovid allows pentasyllabic words to end the pentameter only in the poetry of exile (Platnauer 17). There are eight such words in theTristia, and four in theEx Ponto: I ii 68patrocinium, II ix 20Ericthonius, this passage, and xiii 44amicitiae(Platnauer 17; Riese vii). This distribution contrasts with Ovid's increasing fondness in theEx Pontofor trisyllabic and quadrisyllabic endings, for which see at ix 26tegeretand ii 10Alcinoo.
The laterHeroideshave two pentasyllabic pentameter-endings, XVI 290pudicitiaeand XVII 16superciliis.
13-14. ILLE EGO QVI PRIMVS TVA SERIA NOSSE SOLEBAM, / ET TIBI IVCVNDIS PRIMVS ADESSE IOCIS.The same joining ofseriaandioci(orlusus) atTrI viii 31-32,EPI ix 9-10,EPII iv 9-10 'seriamulta mihi tecum conlata recordor, / nec dataiucundistempora paucaiocis', andEPII x 41-42. It is found in prose and early Latin: Luck atTrI viii 31-32 cites CicFinII 85 'at quicumioca, seria, ut dicitur, quicum arcana, quicum occulta omnia? tecum, optime', PlinyEpII xiii 5 'cum hocseria, cum hociocosmiscui', PlinyEpIV xvii 5 'nihil a me ille secretum, nonioculare, nonserium, non triste, non laetum', and EnniusAnn239-40 Vahlen3'cui res audacter magnas paruasque iocumque / eloqueretur'.
15. CONVICTOR.The word belongs properly to prose, the only other occurrences in verse being two passages in Horace'sSatires: I iv 96 'me ...conuictoreusus amicoque' & I vi 47 'quia sim tibi, Maecenas,conuictor'.Conuictusis similarly found in verse twice only, in Ovid's poetry of exile (TrI viii 29-30 'conuictucausisque ualentibus ... temporis et longi iunctus amore tibi' &EPII x 9-10 'quam [sccuram] tu uel longi debesconuictibusaeui, / uel mea quod coniunx non aliena tibi est').
15. DENSOQVE.'Frequent, often recurring'. This sense ofdensusis not found elsewhere in Ovid, but compare VirgilGIV 347 'densosdiuum numerabat amores', StatiusThebVI 421, and Juvenal IX 35-37 'quamuis ... blandae assiduedensaequetabellae / sollicitent'. The closest parallel for the poetic singular cited byOLD densus3a is Martial IX lxxxvii 1-2 'Septem post calices Opimiani /densocum iaceam triente[19]blaesus'.
15. DOMESTICVS.Apparently the only instance of the substantive in verse. The word is common enough in prose, and formed part of the spoken language, for it is found in reported speech at Petronius 45 6.
17. QVEMLeidensis HeinsiiQVIcodd plerique.Quicannot be connected withnescis, and so is without antecedent. The scribe was probably influenced by 11, 13, and 15, in whichille egois completed by a nominative clause.
Forquem ... an uiuamcompareEPIII vi 57 'teque tegam,qui sis'.
17. VIVAM.Heinsius' VIVAT is unnecessary: the assimilation of person seems reasonable enough in view of such passages asEPI ii 129-31 'ille ego sum qui tecolui... ille ego quiduxiuestros Hymenaeon ad ignes'.
18. SVBITHeinsiusFVITcodd. The precedingnescisrequires a verb with present meaning; andfuitseems impossible to construe as a trueperfect (with present result). Heinsius'subitseems an elegant solution: certain manuscripts offer the same corruption ofsubittofuitatMetIX 93-94 'luxsubit, et primo feriente cacumina sole / discedunt iuuenes' andMetXIV 827-28 'pulchrasubitfacies et puluinaribus altis / dignior'.
19-20. SIVE FVI NVMQVAM CARVS, SIMVLASSE FATERIS; / SEV NON FINGEBAS, INVENIERE LEVIS.For a similar opposition (either alternative being discreditable), seeMetIX 23-24 'nam, quo te iactas, Alcmena nate, creatum, / Iuppiter aut falsus pater est aut crimine uerus'.
21. AVT.'Otherwise'. For the use ofautas a disjunctive adverb rather than a conjunction compare xii 3 'aut ego non alium prius hoc dignarer honore' and the passages there cited. Here, as at xii 3, the idiom has been misunderstood by scribes, with such resulting variants in late manuscripts as EIA ('uterque Medonii pro diuersa lectione'; accepted by Heinsius) and DIC (Gothanus II 121; printed by Burman).
21. IRAM.'Cause for anger'. This seems to be the only instance of the meaning,iranot being found even as a predicative dative; but compare the use oflaudesto mean 'acts deserving praise', as at viii 87 'tuas ... laudes ... recentes'.
23. QVOD TE NVNC CRIMEN SIMILEMseems to be the correct reading; the line connects with thean crimen ...of 24. QVAE TE CONSIMILEM RES NVNC (FIL) looks like a rewriting of the line, perhaps following theloss ofcrimenby haplography (crim̅similē). There seems no good reason why Ovid would have used the emphaticconsimileminstead of the more usualsimilem.
25. SI ... OPEM NVLLAM ... FEREBAS.'If you had no intention of assisting me'—the inceptive or conative imperfect (Woodcock 200). Similar phrasing atTrI viii 9-10 'haec ego uaticinor, quia sum deceptus ab illo /laturummisero quem mihi rebaropem' andEPII vii 46 'et nihil inueni quod mihiferret opem'.
25. REBVS ... FACTISQVE.'Through financial help or action on my behalf'. Ovid does not use this sense ofreselsewhere in his poetry.
26. VERBIS ... TRIBVS.'A few words'. For the idiom Williams cites PlautusMil1020 '"breuin an longinquo sermoni?" "tribu' uerbis"' andTrin963 'adgrediundust hic homo mi astu.—heus, Pax, te tribu' uerbis uolo'; from comedy,OLD tresb cites TerPh638. From the classical period compare SenApocol11 3 'ad summam, tria uerba cito dicat, et seruum me ducat', SenEp40 9, and Quint IX iv 84 'haec omnia in tribus uerbis'; Camps seestresas having the same indefinite meaning at Prop II xiii 25-26 'sat mea sit magno [Phillimore: sit magnauelsat magna estcodd] si tres sint pompa libelli / quos ego Persephonae maxima dona feram'.
27. SED ETwas the standard reading until Ehwald's defence (KB63) of SVBITO, the reading of (B1) andC.
Ehwald's reasoning was thatsed etwould indicate that the news of his friend's slandering him was additional information, and that Ovid already knew something of his friend's behaviour. But this is precisely the case: Ovid has just finished saying that his friend has done nothing to help him (9-10), and now he gives the additional information that his friend is even working against him. Ehwald supported the asyndeton thatsubitocreates by quotingMetXV 359-60 'haud equidem credo: sparsae quoque membra uenenis / exercere artes Scythides memorantur easdem', where in factquoqueseems a convincing parallel tosed et.
27. INSVLTARE IACENTI.'Torment in my misery'. Ovid plays on the literal meanings ofiacereandin-saltare; for the latter, seeAenXII 338-39 'caesis / hostibus insultans'. Ovid usesinsultarein only three other passages. All are from the poems of exile, and all are about the ill-treatment accorded Ovid:TrII 571 'nec mihi credibile est quemquaminsultasse iacenti',TrIII xi 1, andTrV viii 3-4 'curue / casibus insultas quos potes ipse pati?'.
29. A DEMENS.Aindicates a certain amount of sympathy with the person addressed, as can be seen fromTrV x 51-52 'quid loquor,a demens? ipsam quoque perdere uitam, / Caesaris offenso numine, dignus eram' andEclII 60-61 'quem fugis,a demens? habitarunt di quoque siluas / Dardaniusque Paris'.O(M1FILT) would indicate rather less sympathy: compareMetIII 640-41 'dextera Naxos erat: dextra mihi lintea danti / "quid facis,o demens? quis te furor" inquit "Acoete?"'.
29. RECEDAT(TM2) is no doubt a scribal conjecture, but a correct one: 'Why, in case disaster should strike ...'. Most manuscripts have RECEDIT.
31. ORBEprobably means 'wheel'; compare Tib I v 70 'uersatur celeri Fors leuis orberotae' andCons ad Liuiam51-52 (quoted in the next note). However, Professor E. Fantham points out to me that it could also mean 'sphere': she cites Pacuvius 366-67 Ribbeck2(Rhet HerII 36) 'Fortunam insanam esse et caecam et brutam perhibent philosophi, /saxoqueinstare inglobosopraedicantuolubilei'. Smith at Tib I v 70 gives numerous instances of both images.
32. QVEM, found in Heinsius'fragmentum Boxhornianum(=Leid. Bibl. Publ. 180 G), must be right as against the QVAE of the other manuscripts; if a definition is to be given after the preceding 'haec dea non stabili quam sit leuis orbe fatetur', it should be a definition of the wheel, not the goddess. But the resultingquem summum dubioseems very awkwardly phrased, and further emendation is probably needed.
The obvious solution would be to read 'quem summo [Cin fact readssummo]dubiumsub pede semper habet'. This would giveorbisa standard epithet, as atTrV viii 7-8 'nec metuisdubioFortunae stantis inorbe/ numen' andCons ad Liuiam51-52 'nempe per hos etiam Fortunae iniuria mores / regnat etincertaest hic quoque nixarota'. In support of the rather more difficultsummo ... pede(='toes') Professor R. J. Tarrant cites SenSuasII 17 'insistenssummis digitis['toes']—sic enim solebat quo grandior fieret', SenTro1090-91 'in cacumine / erectasummos[uarsummo] turba librauitpedes', andMetIV 562 'aequora destringuntsummisIsmenidesalis'; compare as wellMetIX 342-43 'in adludentibus undis /summa pedumtaloque tenus uestigia tingit'.
A second solution might be to read 'quemdubio summumsub pede semper habet'; the transfer ofdubiusfromorbistopesseems acceptable enough, andMetIV 134-36 'oraque buxo / pallidiora gerens exhorruit aequoris instar, / quod tremit exigua cum summum stringitur aura' offers a good parallel tosummum.
The image of Fortune standing on her wheel occurs elsewhere in Ovid's poems of exile atTrV viii 7-8 (quoted above) andEPII iii 55-56 'scilicet indignum, iuuenis carissime, ducis / te fieri comitem stantis in orbe deae'.
33. QVOLIBET EST FOLIO ... INCERTIOR.For the proverb, see Ottofolium1; and from Ovid compareAmII xvi 45-46 'uerba puellarum, foliis leuiora caducis, / inrita qua uisum est uentus et unda ferunt',HerV 109-10 'tu leuior foliis tum cum sine pondere suci / mobilibus uentis arida facta uolant', andFastIII 481-82 (Ariadne speaking) 'Bacche leuis leuiorque tuis quae tempora cingunt / frondibus'.
33. QVAVIS INCERTIOR AVRA.CompareHerVI 109-10 'mobilis Aesonide uernaque incertior aura, / cur tua polliciti pondere uerba carent?'. Otto (uentus1) cites as well Prop II v 11-13 'non ita Carpathiaeuariant Aquilonibus undae, / nec dubio nubes uertitur atra Noto, / quam facile irati uerbo mutantur amantes',HerXVIII 185-86 (Leander to Hero) 'cumque minus firmum nil sit quam uentus et unda, / in uentis et aqua spes mea semper erit?', and CalpurniusEclIII 10 'mobilior uentis o femina!'.
Thefoliumanduentusimages of the present line are found together at Prop II ix 33-35 'non sic incerto mutantur flamine Syrtes, / nec folia hiberno tam tremefacta Noto, / quam cito feminea non constat foedus in ira'.
34. PAR ILLI=par illius leuitati. Similar compressions at vi 40 'mollior est animo femina nulla tuo' and commonly.
37-38.Ovid gives four instances of unexpected catastrophe, two from Greek history, two from Roman; the greater importance of the Roman examples is emphasized by their position and by the doubling of the space allotted to each example from two lines to four. There is a similar transition at Prop II vi 19-20 'cur exempla petam Graium? tu criminis auctor / nutritus duro, Romule, lacte lupae'.
The Greek examples may have been a traditional pairing: Croesus and Dionysius are mentioned together at LucianGall23 as notable instances of personal catastrophe.
37. OPVLENTIA CROESI.Croesus as the archetype of wealth also atTrIII vii 41-42 'nempe dat ... Fortuna rapitque, / Irus et est subito qui modo Croesus erat'.
The story of Croesus' downfall and the subsequent sparing of his life by Cyrus is taken from Herodotus I 86-88.
It is clear from his poetry that Ovid had a good knowledge of at least the first book of Herodotus:
(1)MetIII 135-37 'sed scilicet ultima semper / expectanda dies homini est, dicique beatus / ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet' may have been drawn from Solon's advice to Croesus at Herodotus I 32 7: 'εἰ δὲ πρὸς τούτοισι [if in addition to having prosperity while alive] ἔτι τελευτήσει τὸν βίον εὖ, οὗτος ἐκεῖνος τὸν σὺ ζητέεις, [ὁadd Stein] ὄλβιος κεκλῆσθαι ἄξιός ἐστι· πρὶν δ' ἂν τελευτήσῃ, ἐπισχεῖν μηδὲ καλέειν κω ὄλβιον, ἀλλ' εὐτυχέα'.
(2) AtFastII 79-118 Ovid tells the story of Arion found at Herodotus I 23-24.
(3) AtFastII 663-66 there occurs the clearest instance of borrowing: Ovid uses the story of the border dispute between Sparta and Argos (Herodotus I 82) in the course of his discussion of the god Terminus: 'si tu signasses olim Thyreatida terram, / corpora non leto missa trecenta forent, / nec foret Othryades congestis lectus [Barth: tectuscodd] in armis. / o quantum patriae sanguinis ille dedit!'.
37. AVDITA EST CVI NON.CompareMetXV 319-20 'cui non audita estobscenae Salmacis undae / Aethiopesque lacus?'.
38. NEMPE TAMEN VITAM CAPTVS AB HOSTE TVLIT.'Even so, it is undeniable that he became a prisoner, and received his life as agift from his enemy'.Vitam ferrealso atEPII i 45 (from a description of Germanicus' triumph of AD 12) 'maxima pars horumuitamueniamquetulerunt'.
39. ILLE ... FORMIDATVS.Equivalent toillewith a definingqui-clause: 'The famous man who had once been feared ...'. Ovid is referring to Dionysius II, the student of Plato, who was expelled from Syracuse in 344 and became a schoolmaster in Corinth. Valerius Maximus (VI ix ext 6) also gives Dionysius as an example of unexpected disaster, and Plutarch (Timoleon14) cites him as an example of the operations of Fortune. For an account of Dionysius' life at Corinth, see Justinus XXI v. There was a Greek proverb 'Διονύσιος ἐν Κορίνθῳ' (CicAttIX ix 1; Quintilian VIII vi 52), apparently referring to his continued lust for power: 'Dionysius ... Syracusis expulsus Corinthi pueros docebat: usque eo imperio carere non poterat' (CicTuscIII 27). Discussions of the proverb at OttoDionysiusand Shackleton Bailey onAttIX ix 1.
39. SYRACOSIA ... IN VRBE.Restored by Heinsius from the manuscripts' unmetrical SYRACVSIA, as atFastVI 277. The same confusion between Συρακόσιος and Συρακούσιος is found in the manuscripts of Pindar (OlI 23), the Attic form supplanting the original Doric. The same corruption is found in some ninth-century manuscripts of Virgil atEclVI 1 'Prima Syracosio dignata est ludere uersu' and in the Veronese scholia, and in the manuscripts of Claudiancarm minLI 6 (Housman 1273).
40. HVMILI ... ARTE.For the low social position of the schoolmaster in antiquity, see Bonner 146-62, and compare especially Juvenal VII 197-98 'si Fortuna uolet, fies de rhetore consul; / si uolet haec eadem, fiet de consule rhetor' and PlinyEpIV xi 1 'nunc eo decidit ut exul de senatore, rhetor de oratore fieret'.
41. MAGNO MAIVS.'Greater than (Pompey) the Great'. Even in the letters of Cicero, Pompey is occasionally calledMagnuswithout further identification (AttI xvi 12). Other plays on the name atFastI 603-4 'Magne, tuum nomen rerum est mensura tuarum; / sed qui te uicit nomine maior erat' and Lucan I 135 'stat magni nominis umbra', where Getty cites Velleius II 1 4 'Pompeium magni nominis uirum'.
42. CLIENTIS OPEM.After the final defeat at Pharsalus, Pompey fled to Egypt and sought the protection of Ptolemy XIII (CaesarBCIII 103, PlutarchPomp77).
Pompey similarly treated as the victim of Fortune at CicTuscI 86 and through much of Lucan VII-VIII; compare as wellAnth LatRiese 401 'Quam late uestros duxit Fortuna triumphos, / tam late sparsit funera, Magne, tua'.
Compare as wellAnth Lat415 39-40 'spes Magnum profugum toto discurrere in orbe / iusserat et pueri regis adire pedes'; the distich follows a description of the hardships undergone by Marius.
44.The line is omitted byB1andC; other manuscripts offer (with minor variations) INDIGVS EFFECTVS OMNIBVS IPSE MAGIS or ACHILLASPHARIVS ABSTVLIT ENSE CAPVT, a line apparently devised with the aid of Juvenal X 285-86 'Fortuna ... uictocaput abstulit' and Lucan VIII 545-46 'ullusne in cladibus istis / est locus AegyptoPhariusqueadmittiturensis?', both passages concerned with Pompey's murder by Achillas. Clearly a line of the poem was lost in transmission.
Heinsius and Bentley felt that the entire distich should be deleted; but 43 seems acceptable enough, and it is appropriate that the description of Pompey's downfall be balanced with the four-line mention of Marius that follows. It would be strange if Pompey's sensational murder were overlooked, as this was regarded by the poets as the ultimate reversal of his fortunes: compare Manilius IV 50-55, Juvenal X 283-86 (which is joined to a mention of Marius' reversal) andAnth Lat401-3 Riese.
45. ILLEgoes with Marius two lines on—'the famous Marius'.
45. IVGVRTHINO ... CIMBROQVE TRIVMPHO.Marius rose to prominence in the Jugurthine war, celebrating his triumph in 104; in 101 his defeat in the Po valley of the Cimbri, a Germanic tribe originally from Jutland, ended a twelve-year military threat to Rome.
47. IN CAENO LATVIT MARIVS.In 88 Sulla, whose command against Mithridates had been transferred to Marius by a special law, marched on Rome and induced the Senate to name Marius an outlaw; Marius was forced to escape to Africa, at one point on the route hiding in the marshes of Minturnae. This ordeal is mentioned by the poets who dealwith Marius, but they consider that he reached the low point of his fortunes when he arrived at Carthage. Compare Manilius IV 47-49, Juvenal X 276-77 'exilium et carcer Minturnarumque paludes / et mendicatus uicta Carthagine panis' andAnth Lat415 33-38 Riese.
47. LATVIT MARIVSMIACVIT MARIVSHMARIVS LATVITLMARIVS IACVITBCFIT.Iacereandlaterecould each be corrupted to the other with ease: such corruptions occur in certain manuscripts atMetI 338 andFastII 244 (iacerecorrupted tolatere) andFastII 467, II 587 & III 265 (laterecorrupted toiacere). Although it is weakly attested,latuitshould be read here in view of the use ofabdereat Velleius II xix 2 'paludem Maricae, in quam se fugiens consectantis Sullae equitesabdiderat' and Lucan II 70 'exul limosa Marius caputabdiditulua', and of κρύπτειν at PlutarchMarius37 5:latereis often virtually a passive form ofabdere.
Marius latuitlooks like a normalization of word order from the emphaticlatuit Marius.
47. CANNAQVE PALVSTRI.Canna palustrisis a standard feature of Ovid's marshes; seeAAI 554,RA142, andMetIV 298 & VIII 337. AtRA142 Henderson comments 'Ovid probably means the plant called in this country [Scotland] Reed (Phragmites communis, a grass), which the Italians callcanna di palude; smaller thanharundo(Arundo donax, the Greek κάννα and Italian canna), it nevertheless often reaches a height of 6 or 7 feet'.
48. MVLTA PVDENDA.The entire sequence of events during Marius' flight to Africa.
50. FACITR. J. Tarrant. Forfidem facere('induce belief') compareMetVI 565-66 'dat gemitus fictos commentaque funera narrat, / et lacrimaefecere fidem' and CaesarBCII 37 1 'nuntiabantur haec eadem Curioni, sed aliquamdiufides fierinon poterat: tantam habebat suarum rerum fiduciam'. Ehwald (KB63) defends FERET (BC), quotingAenX 792 'si quafidemtanto est operilaturauetustas', but the true meaning of this line is 'if antiquity can ever win belief for a deed so grand' (Jackson Knight); the idiom cannot be fitted into the present passage with acceptable meaning. HABET, the reading of most manuscripts, does not account for FERET, but is in itself acceptable enough; compareHerXVI 59-60 'ecce pedum pulsu uisa est mihi terra moueri— / uera loquar ueri [Heinsius: uerocodd] uixhabitura fidem' and CicFlac21 'sed fuerint incorruptae litterae domi; nunc uero quamhabereauctoritatem aut quamfidempossunt?'.
51. SI QVIS MIHI DICERET.CompareTrIV viii 43-44 'hoc mihi si Delphi Dodonaque diceret ipsa, / esse uideretur uanus uterque locus'.
52. GETEis read from the manuscripts by Heinsius; the form is the same as atMetX 608 'Hippomene uicto',FastIV 593 'uictore Gyge',EPII iv 22 'in Aeacide Nestorideque', andEPI viii 6 'dura pharetrato bella mouente Gete [uarGeta]'. All editors but Heinsius print GETAE, but this is contrary to Ovid's usage: compare (to take only a fewinstances)Ibis637 'SarmaticasinterGeticasque sagittas',EPI i 79 'inque locumScythicouacuum mutabor abarcu', andEPIII v 45 'ipse quidemGeticopeream uiolatus abarcu'. The only apparent exceptions to the rule I have found areTrIV i 21 'Sinti [Ehwald: intercoddSintaeIac. Gronouius] nec militis ensem', where the compound expression alters matters somewhat, andFastV 580 'Parthi[uarParthis] signa retentamanu', whereParthashould probably be read; compareFastVI 244 'Mauraspertimueremanus[codd: minasAlton]' andEPI iii 59-60 'altera Bistonias pars est sensura sarisas, / alteraSarmaticaspicula missamanu'.
Getesis also used as an adjective at xiii 18 'paene poeta Getes'.
53. I BIBE ... ANTICYRA.A hendiadys for 'Go drink all the mind-purging hellebore that grows in Anticyra'.
53. PVRGANTES ... SVCOS.For discussions ofelleborussee TheophrastusHPIX 10, PlinyNHXXV 47-61, and Aulus Gellius XVII xv. There were two varieties of the plant, black and white (from the colour of their roots): the former was a laxative, the latter induced vomiting and was thought to sharpen the intellect; compare Val Max VIII vii ext 5, PlinyNHXXV 52, Martianus Capella IV 327, and the other passages cited by Brink at HorAP300.
54. ANTICYRA.Three places of this name are known from ancient sources; it is not known which of them Ovid had in mind. One wasa city in Locris on the north side of the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf; the second was a city near Mount Oeta (Strabo IX v 10), and the third an island of uncertain location (PlinyNHXXV 52). It is possible that HorAP300 'tribus Anticyris caput insanabile' should be taken to mean that all three places were famous for hellebore, but ps-Acron glossestribus Anticyrisas 'tribus ... potionibus [Keller: potuscodd] ... aut multo elleboro', which Brink accepts, citing HorSatII iii 82-83 'danda est ellebori multo pars maxima auaris; / nescio an Anticyram ratio illis destinet omnem' and Persius IV 16 'Anticyras ... sorbere meracas' for the metonymy, and Petronius 88 4 'Chrysippus, ut ad inuentionem sufficeret, ter elleboro animum detersit' for the number. The last two places at least seem to have been known for their hellebore; compare PlinyNHXXV 49 'plurimum autem nascitur in Oete monte et optimum uno eius loco circa Pyram' and XXV 52 'Drusum quoque apud nos ... constat hoc medicamento liberatum comitiali morbo ['epilepsy'] in Anticyra insula'.
57. TV QVOQVE FAC TIMEAS.That is, his friend should start to behave better towards him. For a similar exhortation at the end of a poem of reproach, seeTrI viii 49-50 'effice peccati ne sim memor huius, et illo / officium laudem quo queror ore tuum'; even in theIbisthere is a veiled offer of reconciliation: 'et neque nomen in hoc nec dicam facta libello, / teque breui qui sis dissimulare sinam. / postmodo,si perges, in te mihi liber iambus / tincta Lycambeo sanguine tela dabit' (51-54).
58. DVM LOQVERIS.CompareAmI xi 15 'dum loquor, hora fugit' and HorCarmI xi 7-8 'dum loquimur, fugerit inuida / aetas'; Nisbet and Hubbard citead locPersius V 153 and Petronius 99 3, noting that thesententiais not found before Horace.
In this second poem addressed to Sextus Pompeius, Ovid celebrates the news that Pompeius is to beconsul ordinariusin the following year. As Pompeius was consul in 14, Ovid probably wrote the poem shortly after the election of magistrates in 13.
Poems iv and v form a pair, the first being an account of Ovid's reaction on learning of Pompeius' election, the second being a letter to the new consul. Both poems have points of contact with poem ix, a letter of congratulation sent to Graecinus on his becoming suffect consul.
The poem begins with general reflections that no sadness is absolute, which prepare for the description of how the news came to Ovid of Pompeius' election (1-20). He pictures to himself the ceremonies that will take place (21-42), and ends with the hope that in the midst of the festivities Pompeius will still be able to remember him (43-50).
1-6.In these lines Ovid reverses the usual ancient sentiment that no pleasure is unalloyed. Compare HorCarmII x 17-18 'non, si male nunc, et olim / sic erit'. For the more usual thought, seeMetVII 453-54 'nulla est sincera uoluptas, / sollicitique aliquid laetis interuenit' andFastVI 463 'interdum miscentur tristia laetis'.
1. AVSTRALIBVS VMIDA NIMBIS.An image used elsewhere by Ovid as a metaphor of his unhappiness: seeTrI iii 13 'hanc animo nubem dolor ipse remouit',TrV v 22 'pars uitae tristi cetera nube uacet', andEPII i 5-6 'tandem aliquid pulsa curarum nube serenum ['cloudless'] uidi'.
1. VMIDA.For the dampness of the south wind, compareMetI 65-66 'contraria tellus / nubibus assiduis pluuiaque madescit ab Austro'.
2. NON INTERMISSIS ... AQVIS.Non intermissisin the same metrical position atEPI iv 16 'non intermissis cursibus ibit equus';intermissusused of bad weather atTrII 149-51 'uentis agitantibus aera [uaraequora] non est / aequalis rabies continuusque furor, / sed modo subsiduntintermissiquesilescunt'.
7. DOMO PATRIAQVE CARENS OCVLISQVE MEORVM.Similar phrasing atTrIII vii 45 'cum caream patria uobisque domoque',TrIII xi 15-16 'quod coniuge cara, / quod patria careo pignoribusque meis',TrV v 19 (of his wife) 'illa domo nataque sua patriaque fruatur',TrI v 83,TrIV vi 19,TrIV ix 12,TrV x 47,EPI iii 47, andEPII ix 79.
7. OCVLISQVE MEORVM.CompareTrV iv 27-30 'nec patriam magis ille suam desiderat ... quam uultusoculosquetuos, o dulcior illo / melle quod in ceris Attica ponit apis'.Oculisque meorumseems to mean 'regards des miens' (André) rather than 'the sight of my own' (Wheeler); compareAenXI 800-1 'oculosque tulere / cuncti ad reginam',MetVII 256 'et monet arcanis oculos remouere profanos', Persius V 33 'permisit sparsisse oculos ['to look where I chose']', and from prose CicFamIX ii 2 'ut uitemus oculos hominum'.
9. VVLTVM DIFFVNDERE.The action opposite totrahis uultus(i 5); compareMetXIV 272 'diffudit uultus' and from prose SenEp106 5 'nisi dubitas an uultum nobis mutent, an frontem astringant, anfaciem diffundant'. It is probably from this expression thatdiffundereacquired the extended sense of 'mentally relax' (OLD diffundo5), for which compareMetIV 766 'diffudere animos',MetIII 318 'Iouem ... diffusum nectare', andAAI 218 'diffundetque animos omnibus ista dies'.
9. CAVSAM.CAVSA (BCT) is grammatical enough, but corruption fromqua ... causamtoqua ... causais more likely than the inverse.
The construction of the sentence is rather complex: Ovid's normal practice would be to employ an objective genitive withcausa.
10. POSSIMBCMHITPOSSEMLPOSSVMF. The clause is in primary tense sequence following the true perfectinueni, which represents the present result of a past action. Comparefecit ... minuantin 5-6.
10. NEC MEMINISSE=et obliuisci.Nec (non) meminisseis metrically useful for filling the second hemistich of the pentameter up to the disyllable; so used at vi 50 'arguat ingratum non meminisse sui',TrIV iv 40 & V xiii 18, andEPII iv 6.
11. SOLVSBC. TRISTIS, the reading of the other six manuscripts, is tempting, as being the less neutral of the two adjectives, and was accepted without question by Heinsius and Burman. If it is accepted, one could argue that Ovid refers back to the word at 21 'dilapsis ... curis'. Butsolusis shown to be correct by the passage Ovid is here imitating, VirgilGI 388-89 'tum cornix plena pluuiam uocat improba uoce / etsolain sicca secumspatiatur harena'.Soluswas lost through haplography ('fulua solus': the elongated 's' form common in manuscripts would have facilitated the error) andtristisinterpolated to restore the metre. Ehwald believed (KB63) that the error arose fromtristishaving been written abovesolusin the archetype, but there is no reason to accept this, since the one could not stand as a gloss for the other.
11. SPATIARER HARENA.The phrase is taken from VirgilGI 388-89 (quoted in the previous note); Ovid imitates the passage again atMetII 572-73 'lentis / passibus, ut soleo, summaspatiarer harena'.
12. VISA EST A TERGO PENNA DEDISSE SONVM.'I thought I heard a wing rustle behind me'. A similar advent of an unseen deity atMetIII 96-98 'uox subito audita est; neque erat cognoscere promptum / unde, sed audita est: "quid, Agenore nate, peremptum / serpentem spectas? et tu spectabere serpens"'. Compare as wellMetV 294-98 'Musa loquebatur: pennae sonuere per auras, / uoxque salutantum ramis ueniebat ab altis. / suspicit et linguae quaerit tam certa loquentes / unde sonent hominemque putat Ioue nata locutum; / ales erat'.
12. PENNABMFHILTPINNAC.Pinnaandpenna, perhaps from different roots, were confused even in antiquity. The ancient manuscripts of Virgil offerpinnaas the spelling even for the meaning 'wing', but Quintilian clearly tookpennaas the correct spelling for this sense: 'quare ['therefore'] discat puer ... quae cum quibus cognatio; nec miretur cur ... a pinno quod est acutum [scfiat] securis utrimque habens aciembipennis, ne illorum sequatur errorem qui, quia a pennis duabus hoc esse nomen existimant, pennas auium dici uolunt'. (I iv 12).
13. NEQVE ERATCMHLNEC ERATBFIT. Virgil had a very strong preference fornequebefore words starting with a vowel, but Ovid did not follow this rule: compareMetI 101 'nec ullis', 132 'nec adhuc', 223 'nec erit', 306 'nec ablato', and 322 'nec amantior'. However, it seems better to acceptnequeas the true reading in view of the good manuscript support and the parallel atMetIII 96-97 'uox subita audita est (neque [uarnec] erat cognoscere promptum / unde, sed audita est)'.
13. NEQVE ERAT CORPVS.'But there was no body'.Neque(nec) representssed ... nonas well aset ... non.
It is one of Ovid's favourite devices to describe the aspect of gods when they appear to him, as atAmIII i 7-14 (Elegy and Tragedy),FastI 95-100 (Janus),FastIII 171-72 (Mars),FastV 194 (Flora),FastV 637-38 (Tiber), andEPIII iii 13-20 (Amor). The only other passage where Ovid says he did not see the god isFastVI 251-54, butVesta had no traditional appearance that Ovid could make use of: compareFastVI 298 'effigiem nullam Vesta ... habet'.
The reason that Ovid did not describe Fama was that the picture of Fama as a winged monster which Virgil had made standard (AenIV 174-88) could not easily be integrated into the poem. The only description of Fama in Ovid is atMetIX 137-39 'Fama loquax praecessit ad aures, / Deianira, tuas, quae ueris addere falsa / gaudet, et e minima sua per mendacia crescit'. AtMetXII 39-63 there is a memorable description of Fama's dwelling-place. Fama is also personified (but with no descriptions) atEPII i 19-20 & II ix 3.
16. PER IMMENSAS AERE LAPSA VIAS.Similar phrasing atEPIII iii 77-78 (Amor speaking) 'ut tamen aspicerem consolarerque iacentem, /lapsa per immensas est mea penna uias'.
17. QVO NON TIBI CARIOR ALTER.CompareTrIII vi 3 'nec te mihi carior alter',TrIV vi 46 'qua nulla mihi carior, uxor', andEPII viii 27 'per patriae nomen, quae te tibi carior ipso est'.
18. CANDIDVS ET FELIX PROXIMVS ANNVS ERIT.CompareFastI 63-64 'ecce tibifaustum, Germanice, nuntiatannum/ inque meo primus carmine Ianus adest'. No doubt both passages echo the phrasing of a New Year wish or prayer.
18. CANDIDVS.'Favourable'. CompareTrV v 13-14 (on his wife's birthday) 'optime natalis! quamuis procul absumus, opto /candidushuc uenias', Prop IV i 67-68 'Roma, faue, tibi surgit opus, datecandidaciues / omina, et inceptis dextera cantet auis!', andFastI 79-80 'uestibus intactis Tarpeias itur in arces, / et populusfesto concoloripse suo est'.
19. DIXIT EThas a definite epic flavour, being found in Virgil atAenI 402 & 736, II 376, III 258, IV 659, V 477, VI 677, VIII 366 & 615, IX 14, X 867, XI 561 & 858, XII 266 & 681, andGIV 499; from Ovid compareMetI 466-67 'dixit et eliso percussis aere pennis / impiger umbrosa Parnasi constitit arce', I 762 'dixit et implicuit materno bracchia collo', III 474, IV 162 & 576, V 230 & 419, VIII 101, and VIII 757. A close parallel atEPIII iii 93-94 (Amor has been speaking with Ovid) 'dixit et aut ille est tenues dilapsus in auras, / coeperunt sensus aut uigilare mei'.
22. EXCIDIT.'I forgot'; the opposite ofsubit'I remember'. The idiom is standard Latin (OLD excido19b); Ovidian instances atHerXII 71,AmII i 18,MetVIII 449-50 'excidit omnis / luctus et a lacrimis in poenae uersus amorem est',MetXIV 139,FastV 315,TrI v 14,EPII iv 24, andEPII x 8 'exciderit tantum ne tibi cura mei'.
23. VBI ... RESERAVERIS ANNVM.'When you have unlocked the year'. Compare Ovid's descriptions of Janus atFastI 99 'tenens baculum dextraclauemquesinistra' andFastI 253-54 '"nil mihi cum bello: pacem postesque tuebar / et"clauemostendens "haec" ait "arma gero"'.
23. LONGVM ANNVM.André translates, 'l'année longue à venir', citing CicPhilV 1 'Nihil umquam longius his Kalendiis Ianuariis mihi uisum est', to whichOLD longus14a adds (among other passages) CaesarBGI 40 13 'in longiorem diem collaturus' and SenEp63 3 'non differo inlongiustempus'; but the meaning 'far off' seems unsuited to the present context.Longumshould be taken in its usual sense; it perhaps emphasizes that the whole year is still ahead.
24. SACRO MENSE.Sacerbecause of the religious ceremonies marking the New Year.
25-28.The first action of the new consul was to take auspices at his home and to assume the consular toga: compare Livy XXI 63 10 (217 BC; Flaminius has entered his consulship while absent from Rome) 'magis pro maiestate uidelicet imperii Arimini quam Romae magistratum initurum et in deuersorio hospitali quam apud penates suos praetextam sumpturum' (MommsenStaatsrechtI3615-17).
26. NE TITVLIS QVICQVAM DEBEAT ILLE SVIS.There are two possible ways of understanding this line.
One way is to taketitulisas referring to Pompeius' earlier magistracies, 'as if the series of offices were a score which Pompey would pay in full when he became consul' (Wheeler). A similar use atHerIX 1 'Gratulor Oechaliam titulis accedere nostris'.
Titulisdoes not have to be taken as a strict reference to the offices Pompeius had already held, but can have the wider sense of'reputation, honour'. Compare the opening line ofHerIX quoted above; Professor R. J. Tarrant citesMetXV 855 'sic magnus cedittitulisAgamemnonis Atreus' and Juvenal VIII 241.
The second way to take the passage is, with Némethy, to understandtitulis ... suisas being equivalent tomaioribus suis, qui magnos titulos habent, thetitulibeing the inscriptions below theimaginesof Pompeius' ancestors. A parallel for the sense atEPIII i 75-76 'hoc domuidebesde qua censeris, ut illam / non magis officiis quam probitate colas'. Professor E. Fantham suggests a refinement:titulis ... suisshould be taken in the sense 'achievements of his ancestors'. Compare Prop IV xi 32 'et domus est titulis utraque fulta suis'.
27. PAENE ATRIA.Heinsius preferred PENETRALIA, the reading ofIandF2('sed ne sic quidem locus mihi uidetur plane in integrum restitutus'), apparently objecting topaene. The word seems weak enough, especially in view of VirgilGI 49 'illius immensaeruperunthorrea messes', but Professor R. J. Tarrant points out to me a similarly weakpaeneatTrIII xi 13-14 'sic ego belligeris a gentibus undique saeptus / terreor, hoste meum paene premente latus'. Burman conjectured LAETA and PLENA; neither seems very convincing.
ForatriacompareHerXVI 185-86 'occurrent denso tibi Troades agmine matres, / nec capient Phrygiasatrianostra nurus'.Penetralia, although poorly attested, is in itself appropriate enough, since the new consul began his magistracy in front of hispenates: Festus (Mueller 208; Lindsay 231) defined thepenetraliaas the 'penatium deorum sacraria'.
28. ET POPVLVM LAEDI DEFICIENTE LOCO.The jostling of a crowd similarly described atAmIII ii 21-22 'tu tamen a dextra, quicumque es, parce puellae; / contactu lateris laeditur ista tui'.
29-34.The new consul, accompanied by lictors, left his house and went in solemn procession to the Capitoline, where he took his place on the curule chair, and then sacrificed to Iuppiter Optimus Maximus. A meeting of the Senate followed, held in the temple of Jupiter.
At ix 17-32 Ovid gives a similar description of the consul's entering on his office.
29. TARPEIAE ... SEDIS.Capitolinusis metrically awkward; hence the synecdoche from theTarpeia rupes, the part of the Capitoline from which criminals were hurled. Similar tropes at viii 42 'uictima Tarpeios inficit icta focos', ix 29 'at cum Tarpeias esses deductus in arces', and commonly in the poets.
30. FACILES IN TVA VOTA.'Receptive to your prayers'; for this frequent sense offaciliscompareHerXII 84 'sed mihi tamfacilesunde meosque deos?',MetV 559 'optastisfacilesquedeos habuistis',TrIV i 53 'sint precor hae [the Muses] saltemfacilesmihi',EPII ii 19-20 'esse ... fateor ...difficilemprecibus te quoque iure meis',HerXVI 282 'sic habeasfaciles in tua uota deos', and Grattius 426.
31-32.The asyndeton in this distich is odd, given the preceding series of connectives. If the text is unsound, however, alterationofcertaetocertant(Damsté) orcerno(Owen) is not the cure. By usingcertaeOvid is indicating that there will be a clean blow with the axe, a good omen for the coming year. For the opposite omen, seeAenII 222-24 (describing Laocoon) 'clamores simul horrendos ad sidera tollit: / qualis mugitus, fugit cum saucius aram / taurus etincertamexcussit ceruice securim'.
31-32. BOVES NIVEOS ... QVOS ALVIT CAMPIS HERBA FALISCA SVIS.CompareAmIII xiii 13-14 'ducunturniueaepopulo plaudenteiuuencae, /quas aluit campis herba Falisca suis' andFastI 83-84 (a description of the sacrifices on January 1st) 'collarudes operumpraebentferienda iuuenci, /quos aluit campis herba Falisca suis'.
33-34. CVMQVE DEOS OMNES, TVM QVOS IMPENSIVS AEQVOS / ESSE TIBI CVPIAS, CVM IOVE CAESAR ERVNT.Cupiasmust be supplied withdeos omnes—'You will wish the favour of all the gods; those gods whose favour you will particularly wish will be Caesar and Jupiter'. The omission of the verb from thecum-clause seems very strange, however, and Ehwald (KB63-64) is possibly correct in supposing a distich to have fallen from the text after 32; in this case,cumque deos omnesis probably far removed from its original form.
33. OMNES, TVM QVOS.Ehwald wished to read OMNES, TVNC HOS (Preads TVNC HOS ORES),hosreferring to the gods of the Capitol who had been named in the distich missing after 32; but this would leavecum Ioue Caesar eruntwithout a predicate.
33. AEQVOS.'Favourable'; compareHerI 23 'sed bene consuluit casto deusaequusamori';TrI ii 6 'aequaVenus Teucris, Pallasiniquafuit',TrIII xiv 29 'aequuserit scriptis', andTrIV i 25.
35. E MORE VOCATI.'Convened, as is traditional'. After the sacrifice on the Capitoline, the new consul addressed the assembled Senate; compare Livy XXVI 26 5 'M. Marcellus cum idibus Martiis consulatum inisset, senatum eo diemoris modo causahabuit ['held a session of the Senate simply because it was traditional to do so']' and Livy XXI 63 8 'ne die initi magistratus Iouis optimi maximi templum adiret, ne senatum inuisus ipse et sibi uni inuisum uideret consuleretque'.
36. INTENDENT AVRES.The expression is not found elsewhere in Ovid, or in Virgil; but compare Manilius II 511 'at nudus GeminisintenditAquariusaurem'. The expression is presumably an extension ofoculos (aciem) intendere, for which see CicTuscIV 38,AcII 80, and TacAnnIV 70.
37. FACVNDO TVA VOX ... ORE.For Pompeius' eloquence, Némethy cites Val Max II vi 8 'facundissimo... sermone, qui ore eius quasi e beato quodam eloquentiae fonte manabat' and IV vii ext 2 'clarissimi acdisertissimiuiri'.
37. HILARAVERIT.The verb is rare and elevated in tone. Compare CicBrut44 (of Pericles' oratory) 'huius suauitate maxime hilaratae Athenae sunt', Catullus LXIII 18, andEclV 69.
38. VTQVE SOLET, TVLERIT PROSPERA VERBA DIES.CompareFastI 175-76 (Ovid to Janus) '"at curlaetatuis dicunturuerbaKalendis, / et damus alternas accipimusque preces?"'.
40.Riese's punctuation 'facias cur ita, saepe dabit' seems preferable to the alternate 'facias cur ita saepe, dabit', as placing more emphasis on Augustus and being perhaps an echo ofTrIV ii 12 'munera det meritis,saepe datura, deis'.
42. OFFICIVM POPVLI=populum officium facientem; the same metonymy atMetXV 691-93 (of Aesculapius) 'restitit hic agmenque suumturbaeque sequentis/officiumplacido uisus dimittere uultu / corpus in Ausonia posuit rate'.
44. NEC POTERVNT ISTIS LVMINA NOSTRA FRVI.Other non-personal subjects at CicAm45 (animus) and ps-QuintDeclVII 10 'uulneribus illis non fruenturoculi'. In all of these passages the transition from an expressed personal subject to a faculty or part of the personality seems fairly natural.
45. QVAMLIBETis a correction by Heinsius: 'far away as you might be ...'. The QVOD (QVA) LICET of most manuscripts anticipates the followingqua possum, contrary to Ovid's practice.
45. QVA POSSVM, MENTE.A commonplace of the poems of exile: compare ix 41-42 'mente tamen, quae sola domo non exulat, usus / praetextam fasces aspiciamque tuos',TrIII iv 56,TrIV ii 57 'haec ego summotusqua possum mente uidebo',EPI viii 34 'cunctaque mens oculis peruidet usa suis',EPII iv 8,EPII x 47, andEPIII v 47-48.
47. SVBEAT TIBI.See at xv 30subeant animo(p 440).
The poem was written shortly after Pompeius' accession to the consulship (compare 4 'tectaque brumali sub niue terra latet' and 24 'dequeparum notoconsulet officio'). It takes the form of a set of instructions to the poem on what it should do when it reaches Rome. Ovid tells the poem it should look for Pompeius, and includes a short description of some of the consular functions Pompeius might be carrying out (1-26). He then instructs the poem in what it is to say to Pompeius: it should describe to him Ovid's gratitude for past and present services, and promise (using severaladynataas illustrations) that this gratitude will be eternal (27-46).
A close parallel to this poem is furnished byTrIII vii, in which Ovid tells the poem where it is to seek his stepdaughter Perilla and what it is to say to her. Similar personifications are found inTrI i, in which Ovid gives instructions to his book on what it should do when it reaches Rome and the prudence it should show, inTrIII i, where the book describes its arrival in Rome, inTrV iv, where the letter tells of Ovid's misery and his loyalty to his friend, and in Ovid's exhortation to hiselegiatFastII 3-6. The device is not unique to Ovid, being found at Catullus XXXV, HorEpI xx, and StatiusSilIV iv.
1. LEVES ELEGI.The same phrase at Am II i 21 'blanditiaselegosque leues, mea tela, resumpsi'.
1. DOCTAS AD CONSVLIS AVRES.'To the ears of a consul who appreciates poetry'. Compare HorEpI xiii 17-18 'carmina quae possint oculosaurisquemorari / Caesaris' and Prop II xiii 11-12.
2. HONORATO ... VIRO.Dative of agent withlegenda.
2. HONORATOrefers specifically to Pompeius' consulship.Honoris often used with the restricted sense of 'magistracy'.
3. LONGA VIA EST.CompareTrI i 127-28 (the end of Ovid's instructions to his book) 'longa uia est, propera! nobis habitabitur orbis / ultimus, a terra terra remota mea'.
3. LONGA VIA EST, NEC VOS PEDIBVS PROCEDITIS AEQVIS.Theuia longais seen as a possible cause of the metre's lameness atTrIII i 11-12.
3. NEC ... PEDIBVS ... AEQVIS.Ovid often mentions the alternating pattern of elegiac verse: compare xvi 11numeris ... imparibus ... uel aequisand the passages there cited,AmIII i 8 (of Elegy) 'et, puto, pes illilongior altererat', andEPIII iv 85-86 'ferre etiam molles elegi tam uasta triumphi / ponderadisparibusnon potuererotis'.
5. HAEMONLaurentianus 38 39 (saec xv), Ven. Marcianus XII 106 (saec xv), editio princeps BononiensisHAEMVMBCMFHILT. I follow Heinsius and Burman in printingHaemon, in consideration of the precedingThracen: it seems neater to have both place-names in their Greek forms.Haemumis similarly the transmitted reading atMetVI 87 (of thetapestry created by Minerva) 'Threiciam Rhodopen habet angulus unus etHaemon' andMetX 76-77 (of Orpheus) 'in altam / se recipit Rhodopen pulsumque AquilonibusHaemon', the preferableHaemonbeing found only in certain late manuscripts.
6. TRANSIERĪTIS.In early Latin this would necessarily have been a perfect subjunctive, the future perfect indicative beingtransierĭtiswith the second 'i' short; but after Ennius and Plautus the forms (like-erīsand-erĭs)) are used indifferently, according to metrical necessity. See Platnauer 56 and Kühner-Stegmann I 115-16.
7. LVCE MINVS DECIMA DOMINAM VENIETIS IN VRBEM.'[Starting from Brundisium] you will arrive in Rome before the tenth day'. The same idiom atFastV 379 'nocte minus quarta promet sua sidera Chiron'.
8. VT FESTINATVM NON FACIATIS ITER.The trip would probably be not much shorter than ten days. André cites Livy XXXVI 21 and PlutarchCato maior14 3 for Cato's five-day journey from Hydruntum (Livy; Hydruntum is about seventy-five kilometres southeast of Brundisium) or Brundisium (Plutarch) in 191 to announce the victory over Antiochus III at Thermopylae; both authors mention the journey for its speed. The more leisurely journey from Rome to Brundisium described in HorSatI v seems to have taken about fifteen days; see Palmer on I v 103.
9.EitherPETETVR(FT) or PETATVR (BCMHIL) is possible enough.Peteturseems the better reading in view ofuenietis(7) anderit(16), thecorruption perhaps having been induced byfaciatisin the preceding line. But the jussivepetaturcould be continuing fromitein the first line; compare StatiusSilIV iv 4-5 'atque ubi Romuleas uelox penetraueris arces, / continuo dextras flauipeteThybridis oras'.
10. NON EST AVGVSTO IVNCTIOR VLLA FORO.Compare xv 16 'quam domus [sctua] Augusto continuata foro'.
11. SI QVIS VT IN POPULO.'If someone in the crowd'. This seems to be the sense ofut in populo; Wheeler's translation 'as may happen in the crowd' will work here and atTrI i 17-18 'si quisut in populonostri non immemor illi [=illic], / si quis qui quid agam forte requirat, erit', but not atTrII 157-58 'per patriam, quae te tuta et secura parente est, / cuiusut in populopars ego nuper eram' or at HorSatI vi 78-80 (Horace describes his schooldays) 'uestem seruosque sequentis /in magno ut populosi qui uidisset, auita / ex re praeberi sumptus mihi crederet illos'.
A similar idiom appears atTrII 231-32 'deniqueut in tantoquantum non extitit umquam /corporepars nulla est quae labet imperii'
11. QVI SITIS ET VNDE.Similar phrasing atIlias Lat554-55 'nomen genusque roganti, /qui sit et unde'.
12. NOMINA ... QVAELIBET ... FERAT.Ferat= 'receive as answer'. Compare Livy V 32 8 '[M. Furius Camillus] cum accitis domum tribulibusclientibusque ... percontatus animos eorumresponsum tulissetse conlaturos quanti damnatus esset, absoluere eum non posse, in exilium abiit' and XXI 19 11.
12. DECEPTA ... AVRE.CompareMetVII 821-23 'uocibus ambiguisdeceptampraebuitaurem/ nescio quis nomenque aurae tam saepe uocatum / esse putat nymphae'.
14. VERA, MINVSHilbergVERBA MINVScodd. For the phraseuera fateriHilberg (35-36) cited as parallelsMetVII 728 & IX 53,TrI ix 16,EPIII i 79 'si uisuera fateri',EPIII ix 19 'quid enim dubitem tibiuera fateri?', to which addEPII iii 7. For the contrast ofueraandfictaHilberg citedEPIII iv 105-6 'oppida turritis cingantur eburnea muris, /fictaqueresuero[codd: ueraeRiese] more putetur agi'; see as wellTrI ix 15-16 'haec precor ut semper possint tibifalsauideri; / sunt tamen euentuuera fatendameo'. For the corruption ofueratouerbahe citedFastI 332,TrIII vi 36, III xi 33 & IV iii 58, and Prop III xxiv 12 'naufragus Aegaea uera [Passerat: uerbacodd] fatebar [uarfatebor] aqua'; for the position ofuerahe citedEPIII i 46 & IV xiii 26. The corruption was no doubt assisted by the isolated position ofueraat the start of the pentameter.
15-16. COPIA NEC VOBIS NVLLO PROHIBENTE VIDENDI / CONSULIS ... ERIT.'Even if no one stops you, you will not be able to see the consul [because he will be busy]'. Heinsius preferred to read VLLO (P), but this does not yield sense: it would have to mean 'you will be able to see the consul if no one prevents you' or 'you will be unable to seethe consul if anyone prevents you'; neither of these meanings would cohere with what follows.
15. COPIA.'Opportunity'; compareMetXI 278 'copia... facta est adeundi tecta tyranni',EPIII i 135-37 'cum domus Augusti ... laeta ... plenaque pacis erit, / tum tibi di faciant adeundicopiafiat', andAenI 520 'coram datacopiafandi', XI 248 (=I 520) & XI 378.
16. CONTIGERĪTIS.See on 6transierītis.
17. DICENDO IVRA.The plural is poetic, the standard phrase beingius dicere:OLD ius24b cites Livy III 52 6 alone for the plural.
17-26.Ovid lists in order of ascending importance some of the activities Pompeius as consul might be engaged in, starting with the hearing of lawsuits and ending with visits to the imperial family. For a shorter instance of the device of listing the recipient's possible activities, seeTrIII vii 3-4 (Ovid tells his letter to seek Perilla) 'aut illam inuenies dulci cum matre sedentem, / aut inter libros Pieridasque suas'.
18. CONSPICVVM ... SIGNIS EBVR.Signis= 'bas-relief'; the sense is confined to verse (OLD signum12b). Compare ix 27 'signa ... in sella ... formata curuli',MetV 80-82 'altis / extantem signis ... cratera',MetXII 235-36 'signis extantibus asper / antiquus crater',MetXIII 700, Lucr V 1427-28 'ueste ... purpurea atque auro signisque ingentibus apta',AenV 267, V 536 & IX 263, Prop IV v 24, StatiusThebI 540, and Silius II 432.
18. CVM PREMET ALTVS EBUR.'When he sits tall on the curule chair'. The same situation similarly described atFastI 81-82 'iamque noui praeeunt fasces, noua purpura fulget, / et noua conspicuum pondera sentit ebur'; compare as wellMed Fac13 'matronapremens altumrubicunda sedile' andMetV 317 'factaque de uiuopresseresedilia saxo'.
19. REDITVS ... COMPONET.'Will be arranging the [state's] income'. ForredituscompareAmI x 41 'turpe torireditucensus augere paternos' andEPII iii 17-18 'atreditusiam quisque suos amat, et sibi quid sit / utile sollicitis supputat ['calculates'] articulis'. Forcomponetcompare CicII VerrIV 36 'componehoc quod postulo de argento' and TacAnnVI 16 5.
19. POSITAM ... AD HASTAM.A spear placed in the ground was a symbol of magisterial authority, and as such was always present at the letting of tax contracts. For the language compare CicLeg AgrII 53 'ponite ante oculos uobis Rullum ...hasta posita... auctionantem'. Forhastawith the specific meaning of 'contract-letting', see Livy XXIV 18 11 'conuenere ad eos frequentes quihastae huius generisadsueuerant'. The practice is recalled in the modern Italian term for 'auction',uendita all'asta.
20. MINVI MAGNAE.A word play onminusandmagisat least; but Professor E. Fantham points out to me that Ovid probably had in mind the phrasemaiestatem populi Romani minuere(CicInuII 53 &PhilI 21); Pompeius will not allow the interests of the state to be damaged.
21. IN IVLIA TEMPLA=in curiam Iuliam. Caesar had started the construction of a new senate-house in 44; it was opened by Augustus in 29. The building, as restored by Diocletian, survives substantially intact: see Nash I 301.
22. TANTO DIGNIS CONSVLE REBVS.Note the separation of the epithets from the nouns, and the high level of diction produced by the hyperbaton.
23. AVT FERET ... SOLITAM ... SALVTEM=aut, ut solet, salutabit.
23. NATOQVE.Tiberius, son of Ti. Claudius Nero, had been adopted by Augustus in AD 4.
24. DEQVE PARVM NOTO CONSVLET OFFICIO.'Will be asking advice about his unfamiliar office'. It still being winter, Pompeius would not have been very long in office, and so would not yet have been very familiar with his duties. Burman objected to this notion ('nec Ovidium tam adulandi imperitum fuisse puto, ut ignorantiam aut seruitutem tam imprudenter obiiceret Pompeio') and conjectured DEQVE PATRVM TOTO CONSVLET OFFICIO, that is, 'consulet Caesares,quale uelint esse officiumtotius senatus'. But the conjecture is unattractive, and the problem not as great as Burman thought: both Ovid and Pompeius would wish to emphasize the importance of the Caesars.
25. AB HIS VACVVM.A prose usage, paralleled in Ovid byEPI i 79 alone 'inque locum Scythicouacuummutaborab arcu'. Elsewhere Ovid has nine instances ofuacuuswith the simple ablative and two instances ofuacuuswith the genitive, while Virgil never hasuacuuswith a complement. ET HIS VACVVM, given byBandC, is perhaps an attempt to restore normal poetic idiom.
26. A MAGNIS ... DEIS.'After the great gods'—Augustus and Tiberius. Dio says that it was remarked after Augustus' death that both of the consuls for the year were related to the emperor (LVI 29 5); it is strange that Ovid nowhere mentions Pompeius' link with the imperial family.
For the sense ofab, compare for exampleEclV 48-49 'nec calamis solum aequiperas, sed uoce magistrum: / fortunate puer, tu nunc eris alterab illo' and StatiusThebIV 842.
27. CVM TAMEN ... REQVIEVERIT.After it has arrived in Rome, the poem should not vex Pompeius by approaching him when he is busy. AtTrI i 93-96 Ovid in the same way advises his book when it should approach Augustus, and atEPIII i 135-40 gives similar directions to his wife. Compare as wellMetIX 572-73 (a messenger carries Byblis' declaration of love to her brother) 'apta minister / tempora nactus adit traditque fatentia [H. A. Koch: latentiacodd] uerba' andMetIX 610-12 (Byblis' explanation of the failure of her suit) 'forsitan et missi sit quaedam culpa ministri: / non adiit apte, nec legit idonea, credo, / tempora, nec petiithoram animumque uacantem'.